A holiday is the perfect time to relax, put your feet up and forget about the ‘real world’. For some this will mean enjoying a drink or two on the beach, for others it means partying until dawn – but, holidaymakers should be aware that their travel insurance might not cover them for a claim that is caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
However, travel insurer’s attitudes to alcohol cover will vary between policies.
So how can you know what you may, or may not be covered for?
Travel insurers understand that people like to relax on holiday, and that they will have a drink or two, and might get a little ‘tipsy’ – however there are some holidaymakers who take this to the extreme.
As a general rule, an insurer will look to see if the claim was caused because someone was so drunk that their judgement was been seriously impaired. In other words, it might not have happened had they been reasonably sober.
So, the message is, enjoy yourself on holiday and if you do drink, do so in moderation, just in case your travel insurer has a strict alcohol exclusion.
Fiona Macrae, from Travel Insurance Explained, spoke with BBC Radio Scotland and highlighted some of the key issues holidaymakers face when drinking alcohol abroad.